Journal of Geography  & Natural Disasters
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Abstrait

Is there a relationship between land surface temperature and ground water availability in the kumasi metropolis?

Selase Kofi Adanu

Rise in urban temperature due to infrastructure development may
require some cool offs that can be attained when trees are present
in cities or when water is available for use to cool buildings
and human systems. Water availability is therefore important for
reliable water supply as a measure to deal with urban heat. Water
availability determines the extent to which borehole can be
constructed in developing countries such as Ghana. In this study,
the Land Surface Temperature of Kumasi Metropolis has been
studied over a period of 10 years (2009 to 2019) in comparison
to the extent of water availability given the decline in green vegetation
cover of the city due to infrastructure development. The
objectives of the study were to determine temperature levels in the
Kumasi Metropolis from 2009 to 2019 and determine whether
there is any correlation between Land Surface Temperature (LST)
and water availability. Methods applied to the study were to convert
the digital numbers of Landsat 2009, 2015 and 2019 images
to radiance, top of brightness temperature and at-sensor brightness
temperature. Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI)
was calculated by subtracting the green band of Landsat data from
the red band divided by addition of the green band to the red
band. Results of the study show rise in temperature over a period
of 10 years where parts of the city that had high temperatures of
31°C and other parts had medium to low temperatures of 18°
C. NDWI result show high water levels exist at places of high
surface temperatures while low water availability exist at places of
low temperatures. The correlation between LST and NDWI show
a positive relationship. The study concludes that the positive correlation
result was not expected as such further research is needed
to understand the nature of result obtained.